The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria, the country’s market regulator, has instructed Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, to cease its operations in Nigeria.

According to a report by Reuters, the SEC stated that Binance Nigeria Limited, which targeted Nigerian investors through its website, was engaging in illegal activities as it was not registered or regulated.

“The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) has been drawn to the website operated by Binance Nigeria Limited, soliciting the Nigerian public to trade crypto assets on its various web and mobile-enabled platforms.
Binance Nigeria Limited is neither registered nor regulated by the Commission and its operations in Nigeria are therefore illegal. Any member of the investing public dealing with the entity is doing so at his/her own risk,” read part of the circular about the matter on the SEC website.

In a separate case, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed lawsuits against both Binance and Coinbase, accusing them of violating its regulations.

Last year, Nigeria’s SEC introduced a set of regulations for digital assets, indicating the country’s attempt to find a middle ground between a complete ban on cryptocurrencies and unregulated usage.

This came after the central bank of Nigeria banned banks and financial institutions from dealing with or facilitating transactions involving digital currencies.

According to Statista Global Consumer Survey, “Nigeria is one of the countries leading cryptocurrency adoption, with 47 percent of the population owning or using digital currencies daily.”